Diem Era

June of 1955, Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam said that elections wouldn't happen. Diem asked, "How can we expect 'free elections' to be held in the Communist North?". President Eisenhower in 1954, wrote that, "80 per cent of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh" over Emperor Bao Dai. He was a Roman Catholic and an anti-communist and was "untainted" by any connection to the French. He was one of the few prominent Vietnamese nationalists who could claim both attributes.In April and June of 1955, Diem went against U.S. advice and cleared the decks of any political opposition by sending military operations against the Cao Dai religious sect, the Hoa Hao sect, and the Binh Xuyen organized crime group. Diem wanted to blame these operations on communists. During the summer of 1955, he launched a campaign called "Denounce the Communists", during the time when communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. Diem made a policy of death penalty against any activity deemed communist in August 1956.Opponents were labeled Viet Cong which meant "Vietnamese communist".

About 52,000 Vietnamese civilians moved from the south to the north. But, 800,000 people fled north Vietnam to the south, mostly in aircraft and ships provided by France and the U.S. Diem later went on to staff his administration's key posts mostly with northern and central Catholics. About 12,000 opponents of Diem were killed in the years of 1955–1957 and by the end of 1958 an estimated amount of 40,000 political prisoners had been put in jail.Diem rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu and was accredited with 98.2 percent of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. Diem viewed the election as a test of authority. On 26 October 1955, Diem declared the new Republic of Vietnam, with himself as president.The Republic of Vietnam was created largely because of the Eisenhower administration's desire for an anti-communist state in the region.In May, Diem undertook a ten-day state visit to the United States. President Eisenhower pledged his continued support. A parade in New York City was held in his honor. Although Diem was openly praised, in private Secretary of State John Foster Dulles conceded that he had been selected because there were no better alternatives.

Vietnam "War"

Diem Era